Fans ready for new territory

So far 4500 people have bought tickets to the ITM Cup Final in Hawke's Bay

It may be uncharted waters but 4500 people were booked in for the voyage yesterday as the Hawke's Bay rugby union looked forward to the Magpies' ITM Cup championship rugby final against the Wellington Lions tomorrow night.

That was the number marketing manager Jay Campbell put on tickets picked up by late yesterday and, with the weather forecast for a cloudy evening at worst, more than 7000 are expected at McLean Park.

"Obviously, we would like a lot more," he said, "but this is really unknown territory for us. We have never had a final on Hawke's Bay Show Day before."

The great "unknown" is whether the two big events are in competition or will complement each other.

While the main clash is between the two teams in the match, which kicks off at 7.35pm, some may have an eye on how the crowd numbers compare with those for the premiership final between Auckland and Canterbury in Christchurch the following night.

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton, whose city owns the park, finds himself "on the same side for this one" with Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule.

"I'll be there. I think they will get a great crowd," Mr Dalton said. "There's already a bit of pressure on ticket sales, so that's good."

He had not heard from Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, and does not know if she is interested in rugby, but the capital's team are on the job, arriving in Napier today to get a 24-hour lead-in for what will be the second of two Hawke's Bay-Wellington battles at McLean Park tomorrow night.

The first will be in the half-hour before kick-off, when about 10 mascots will race up the park, including reputed Hawkeye offspring Kahu and Wellington's Leo the Lion, recently given a facelift by Weta Workshop costume designer Bryce Curtis.

Football and basketball mascots are also fronting for the challenge, along with several linked to major sponsors.